Profile: Chief Constable Peter Fahy

He is leading the investigation into the death of Garry Newlove, 47, and spoke after four teenagers were charged with his murder.

Firstly, Mr Fahy called for the legal drinking age to be raised to 21.

He later argued there should be tougher legal sanctions to force parents to stop their children drinking underage.

His comments reflect his position on the board of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo).

He is spokesman for race and diversity but his broad remit also includes taking the lead on youth issues, as well as those affecting women, gay people and the elderly.

Quizzed online

Mr Fahy, who is 44, became head of Cheshire Police in December 2002.

Since then, he has been particularly outspoken about the need to recruit more ethnic minority officers to help tackle terrorism in the UK.

In 2004, he suggested that officers from ethnic minorities should be promoted ahead of white colleagues.

Mr Fahy has also made himself available for several online question-and-answer sessions with the public in which he has encouraged input on issues affecting community safety.

And in 2003, he publicly criticised the Bishop of Chester for comments he made suggesting gay people should seek psychiatric help to cure them of their homosexuality.

Before joining the Cheshire force, Mr Fahy served as assistant chief constable of Surrey Police - a post he took on in 1997.

Prior to that, he worked for Hertfordshire Police and West Midlands Police and held senior positions in several force areas including Coventry.

Father-of-four

During Mr Fahy's tenure, Surrey remained statistically the safest county in England. It also saw a big increase in the number of local beat officers.

As assistant chief constable, Mr Fahy also led two major complaint investigations.

The first was into the death of Ricky Reel, an Asian student who died after falling into the River Thames in 1997. Police initially concluded it was a tragic accident but their investigation was later found to be "flawed".

The second examined the death of Harry Stanley who was shot by police who mistook a table leg he was carrying for a gun.

Mr Fahy is married with four children. He holds a degree in French and Spanish from Hull University.

He also has a Masters degree in Human Resource Strategy from the University of East Anglia.